The representation of information in tabular form has been known for many years. An early introduction to this form of representation consists of a times table in which a matrix is defined in a 12.times.12 array, with first multiplicands 1 to 12 defined across the first row and second multiplicands 1 to 12 defined along a first column. The intersections of rows and columns then define the product of the two related multiplicands, thereby facilitating quick identification of the appropriate answer.
Tables of this form are also known in other applications, such as logarithmic tables, travel time tables and many other forms of charts, such as colour charts etc, where a resulting output property may be derived from the combination of two variable input properties. Thus, a particular shade of pink may be identified as being derived from a combination of saturated red with a proportion of added white. Thus, combined colour of this form may be specified in terms of its input proportions and a table may be used to facilitate the identification.
Tables are often used in computer systems such as data bases and spread sheets etc, therefore gaining a grasp of table use, along with a grasp of basic multiplication, is an important educational step and difficulties encountered at this stage may result in an inability to grasp more complex situations in later years.